**** Long Story Short has closed
Before we left on our trip, the Missus wanted a nice dinner in the North Park area, “something new”. We’d recently had a not so satisfying dinner in the area and with prices these days, well, we’d rather not spend $19 for a single scallop appetizer. While doing a bit of searching, I found that the wine bar Little Thief had closed and was replaced by a restaurant and wine bar called Long Story Short. I enjoyed the backstory of the chefs a husband and wife team. You can read about that here. The restaurant was only open from 4pm to 10pm Tuesdays to Saturdays and the menu was ever changing, based on what could be sourced locally, something that is amazing when it works out, but can be disappointing when it doesn’t.
I made reservations for Tuesday at the 5pm slot and we headed on over.
The place was pretty quiet when we arrived.
Our Server was a very friendly woman and we decided to have seat outside since it was such a nice day.
We weren’t too hungry and ordered two “hot” dishes and a pasta.
First to arrive was the Uni “French Toast” ($30).
Well, this is San Diego Uni, so while I was worried we’d be getting one little piece of Uni on a slice of micro toast, we still had to try it. Luckily, it was not that. The uni melted in your mouth with that delicate lightly briny-savory-sweetness; the brioche had a nice butteriness but wasn’t overly sweet. There was just a touch of avocado which really made no difference. The shoyu added some saltiness to things. As for the koji-maitake miso; well, the best thing I can say is that it didn’t interfere with the clean, yet decadent textures and flavors of the uni and brioche. This was by far our favorite dish of the meal.
Based on the other dishes in the meal; I ordered some bread ($9) and butter. Yes, they charge you nine bucks for bread here.
Especially since it was “Hoja Santa” Sourdough. You know the Missus and Her love for Hoya Santa, right? Unfortunately, the hoya santa was placed on the crust of the bread and we really couldn’t make out the wonderful anise-minty-grassy tones of hoya santa we love. Also, it just seems that the flavor of Hoya Santa here is not as assertive as what we’d had in Oaxaca. We also didn’t care much for the “street-corn” butter. The bread itself proved to be an adequate vehicle for dipping though.
Next to arrive was the Roasted Winter Squash ($22).
The Missus loves Kabocha which was in this dish; She loves mushrooms and this featured Maitake and Oyster mushrooms. Unfortunately, the sum of the parts just didn’t go together well. The sweetness of the kabocha was overly heightened which nullified the earthy tones of the mushrooms. A bit too much sour and sweet for us. The brown butter was also a bit much. Our least favorite dish of the evening.
The last item up was the Chino Farms Corn and Ricotta Agnolotti ($29).
I would usually hesitate in ordering a pasta dish with corn in the fear it would be too sweet. But this dish included Huitlacoche another one of our favorite ingredients. The actual dough for the pasta was a bit on thick side and chewy, but the balance of sweet and salty was nicely balanced. The sauces weren’t too heavy. The aleppo pepper was barely detectible in the dish. Still, the sauce was quite nice with the bread.
The Missus enjoyed the two glasses of wine She had with Her meal. The timing was kind of uneven as it was almost a 30 minute wait between the Kabocha dish and the pasta, though the folks working were quite friendly. We did enjoy the uni, so perhaps we’ll return. It’s totally up to the Missus if we will. I’m hoping they do well; heck two of the places we visited less than a year-and-half ago; Verbena Kitchen and Hoxton Manor have already closed.
Whoa, I just noticed that I’m over 700 words for a single visit post with 3 dishes! I guess I made what should have been a “short story long” in the case of “Long Story Short”!
Long Story Short
3017 University Ave.
San Diego, CA 92104
Current Hours:
Tues – Sat 4pm – 10pm
Closed Sunday and Monday
Yes, that's what the plate looked like. Man, those…in very loose quotes "won ton" were like a cardboard gau gee, time didn't do the wrapper any favors as it was quite chewy.
The chicken wings were still a crisp-crunchy when I got back to the office, but had way too much MSG and had me gulping down water in no time at all.
It seems that I had a "shift" in the tomatoes on the drive back to the office. I was just happy to have tomatoes on my dog which were MIA on my last visit. The fries, which were crisp on my last two visits, were soggy and dry this time around; though I kinda liked the pieces that had celery salt on them.
All the chicken, both the karaage and the wings were nice and crisp and very moist; nicely seasoned, a hint of soy, but not overly salty. The best I've had from Tenkatori thus far.
CroBean has been here since November 2019. It's family owned.
There are menus on the wall, we wanted to try everything.
There were many choices of fresh bread. We ended up with a basic baguette and it was very good.
There were display cases and choices all looked good. We were overwhelmed this first visit.
So, we ended up with a ham and cheese croissant (you 
On the counter under a dome were these sort of cookie bars. The shortbread crust was made with oatmeal flour and butter…It was thick and salty and then turned delicate, crumbling when you bit it. The layer of raspberry jam was super flavorful and not sweet. The strudel topping was also buttery and sweet and really nice.
In any case, consistency of the quality and flavors is the biggest reason we stop here. We just know what we order will be the same as always.
Of course, the prices have increased. Credit cards are now accepted and you pay when you order, not when picking up the order. 
A bowl of White Clam Chowder ($6) is always our choice. Filled with diced potato, celery and plenty of fat, fresh clams, the creamy clam broth is perfect without additions…but those oyster crackers added in about halfway just make the chowder 'fancier'.
Smoked Fish Cocktail ($8.95) instead of buying random smoked fish by the pound (which we usually do) was a good choice. There were three types of fish-meaty, firm tuna, a smokey yet sweet halibut and delicately smoke flavored swordfish. Each tasted great on its own but the house made, light horseradish flavored cocktail sauce, each bite had an additional flavor hint. Smoked fish as well as smoked meat is proper; smoked cheese is wrong.
Fish and Chips ($19). The classic. Three very large, thick pieces of flaky Alaskan cod coated in a light, crunchy, non-oily batter with plenty of thin, crisp fries and a delightful cabbage-carrot-bell pepper slaw which is lightly dressed in mayonnaise. The house made tartar sauce is unique and great with the fish as well as the crispy fries. The serving portion was plenty to share.
or you can scan it from your table.
The spicy calamari appetizer ($7.95) was light and crisp and quite a good size for sharing (or it could be a meal with a salad) the spicy garlic sauce was not necessary.
Agedashi tofu ($6.95) is also lightly fried. The tofu itself has a nice soybean flavor and the 'cubes' are very large. Again, good for sharing.
This vegetable tempura roll ($9.95) is simply wonderful. Tempura battered asparagus, green beans, kobucha and sweet potato. There's also avocado inside. Since I don't eat meat on Fridays, this is a wonderful way to satisfy a bunch of cravings as part of a meal. 
Most of the meal sets here include miso and salad. Here's a generic photo. 
This is the Sesame Chicken plate ($13.95) Large pieces of dark meat chicken, coated in sesame seeds then bread crumbs and fried, properly. This was a very large meal and at some point turned into a salad with chicken topping.
The Beef Teriyaki Lunch Bento with shrimp and veggie tempura ($16). The teriyaki sauce is not very sweet nor is it sticky. The tentsuyu (sauce for dipping the tempura) was lightly salty and complimentary to the light, crispy fry. 
The Seafood Yakisoba ($16.95) was nicely done- noodles still chewy, a light sauce, carrots. broccoli. bell pepper, zucchini and cabbage along with shrimp, green mussels, fishcake, calamari and scallops. Again, a good size meal. 
`The vegetable teriyaki ($12.95) was a great tasty surprise. Lightly sautéed vegetables topped with the pleasant house made teriyaki topped with green onion and crunchy sesame seeds. An excellent bite of everything I was craving that day. 
Tonkatsu Curry ($14.95). A large piece of thin cut, breaded pork, deep fried and still moist. Served on top of rice with a delightful potato-carrot-onion curry sauce. Comfort food on a chilly day.
This. This is what I absolutely enjoy the most here. It's the Vegan Ramen ($13.50). Mushroom broth, spinach noodles, vegetables and tofu. It's been absolutely perfect each time I've ordered it. The broth is so good, the noodles have a nice spinach flavor. All of the vegetables. To me, it is a perfect bowl of goodness and warmth. 
The diner closes between lunch and dinner; the only way I was able to get a photo of empty tables. 
The handout menu is pretty extensive (this is not all of it). The weekend lunch specials are similar to those at Wa Dining Okan on weekdays.
There are plenty of additional suggestions taped to the wall .
Vegetable tempura ($10) is perfectly made here. Light fry with light breading. Flavors of everything are bright, even the dipping sauce.
Chicken Liver appetizer ($6.50). Broiled chicken liver in a sweet soy sauce. Excellent. I first had chicken livers with a summertime roommate from Indonesia. She sautéed those with broccoli and topped with sesame seeds. To this day, chicken livers prepared that way are a comfort food.
Yakko ($4). Cold tofu with ginger, green onion and topped with bonito flakes. An excellent tofu.
Tsukemono ($6). Assorted pickles. So fresh flavored and crisp! These were an excellent 'side' instead of an appetizer. 
Of course I ordered the Zaru Soba ($10.50) the quick chilled buckwheat noodles were tasty and chewy, the dipping sauce, wasabi and chopped green onions complimentary. Many flavors in each bite. 
This menu page caught our eye. 
White curry udon ($10) Add beef ($4).
Fat, fresh, chewy udon in a white curry soup topped with freshly whipped cream and a poached egg (sorry no photo of the beautiful orange yolk). The added beef was thin and nicely flavored but almost unnecessary. This as a wonderful unexpected meal.
Blue Crab Salad ($12) was a filling meal in itself. Mixed greens, tomato, avocado and blue crab with a mayonnaise based dressing. 
Carbonara Udon ($14.50). Bacon, mixed mushrooms, a four cheese Alfredo sauce…
and there's that poached egg with its colorful orange yolk.
Mushrooms! This was great; everything here was prepared and served in such a beautiful way. 